The proposed Indian cryptocurrency legislation, which is expected to be tabled in the ongoing session of the country’s parliament, would impose a complete ban on cryptocurrencies as a payment mode and any violation would lead to criminal charges, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Citing anonymous sources, the report detailed that the draft bill is recommending strict jail terms for the violators, who can be arrested without any warrant. Further, the offenses could be ‘non-bailable’.
Though the draft bill is not available to the public yet, it has been listed on the roster of the ongoing parliamentary session of the country.
The Indian government is planning a ‘general prohibition on all activities by any individual on mining, generating, holding, selling, (or) dealing’ in cryptocurrencies ‘medium of exchange, store of value and a unit of account’, the summary of the bill stated.
Additionally, the bill might extend to the self-custodial crypto wallet platforms that hold cryptocurrencies outside crypto exchanges. However, how the government is planning to impose such a ban on decentralized technology is still unclear.
Moreover, it says that the country’s securities market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), will oversee all activities related to cryptocurrencies.
High Crypto Penetration
Meanwhile, India's crypto penetration remains very high among Indian citizens. According to industry estimates, there are 15 million to 20 million crypto investors in India with a total investment of around $6 billion. Furthermore, local crypto exchanges are running big-budget campaigns to lure more and more potential retail crypto investors to their platforms. However, the bill might impose a curb on these rampant crypto ads in the country.
Despite the expected crypto ban, Kotak Mahindra, one of the largest private lenders in India, stepped aside from its hostility towards the cryptocurrency industry and recently opened an account for the local exchange , WazirX.
